The monitoring evaluation of the Mindset and Behavior Reform by the three outside members

●Mr. Itami
The Sharing Meetings and other activities have led to a concrete understanding that integrity is the top priority in business operations, which suggests a change in the organizational culture. On the other hand, compared to the dJ Mindset and Behavior Reform Survey conducted one year ago, the indicator “I think it is more important to produce business results and profits” deteriorated slightly, while the indicator “I think I can balance integrity and results” remained almost unchanged. Some employees understand the need to prioritize integrity in their work, but in reality, they are still deeply rooted in their desire to focus on profits and results, and have yet to change their mindset and behavior. It is necessary to continue efforts to disseminate the integrity-first philosophy through support in the work process.

●Mr. Yoshino
I commend you for taking seriously the problems pointed out by outside experts and vigorously implementing a number of measures. These measures include the introduction of new systems and institutional reforms, but we ask that you repeat the verification process to ensure that these systems do not become merely a formality and that they are effective in preventing recurrence.

●Mr. Daito
It is commendable that the results of the dJ Mindset and Behavior Reform Survey indicate that understanding of the importance of integrity has spread to a considerable degree. On the other hand, the survey also revealed that front-line workers are struggling to balance integrity and business performance. Therefore, in addition to the overall survey, I would like to see dJ continue its efforts to identify and resolve the specific concerns of front-line workers through targeted questionnaires and interviews.

(as of December 10, 2024)

●Mr. Itami
Mindset and Behavior Reform is steadily having an effect, with the amount of conversation about compliance increasing and the environment becoming more conducive to consultation, and it can be said that a corporate culture based on integrity is beginning to take root. As well as promoting various measures to reform mindset and behavior and deepening understanding so that they can be applied to day-to-day work, etc., it is also important to continue to move forward at a fast pace with a cycle of seeking solutions on their own when they are unsure about how to carry out their work, consulting as appropriate, presenting appropriate solutions, and monitoring and accumulating these solutions and sharing them. While also keeping a close eye on the upcoming survey on Mindset and Behavior Reform, we will continue to pay close attention to the effectiveness of various measures and the degree of penetration of Mindset and Behavior Reform.

●Mr. Yoshino
The introduction of various measures to support Mindset and Behavior Reform is steadily progressing, and this can be evaluated as a positive development. Although it appears that understanding of integrity is not progressing as quickly as it should, it is also a problem that understanding is progressing but not being accompanied by action. In the future, I want them to focus on efforts shifted to the effective operation of the measures that have been introduced. I believe that understanding of integrity will deepen further through taking action based on effective measures when carrying out the work at hand.

●Mr. Daito
As a corporate culture that prioritizes integrity becomes more widespread, it seems that more and more employees are wondering how they should act in order to pursue business results while prioritizing integrity. In order to respond to the concerns of such employees, dentsu has introduced initiatives such as having multiple executives and employees from various positions introduce their opinions on typical “concerns” and how they would think about them. In this way, the company's united approach to promoting integrity is highly commendable.

(as of September 2024)

●Mr. Itami
There is nearly full awareness of the dJ mindset and behavior reform as a whole, and understanding of the nature of operations that prioritize integrity is deepening, indicating the effectiveness of the reform. However, while the level of understanding as a whole has increased, it is still far from sufficient, and it is necessary to continue to implement various measures to promote awareness of the reform and integrity. As understanding of integrity has deepened, hesitation and anxiety in business operations have increased. In order to attend to the concerns and anxieties of employees and find solutions together, the roles of dJ compliance officers, managers, and supervisors who guide and advise employees are extremely important. We will continue to closely monitor the degree of awareness of the mindset and behavior reform.

●Mr. Yoshino
In addition to the introduction of systems and institutional reforms, it is notable that, more fundamentally, the company is making steady progress in the mindset and behavior reform, with each executive and employee recognizing, understanding, and accepting the importance of the reforms before taking action. The questions and concerns voiced by executives and employees are an indication of their willingness to work on the reforms, and therefore, the supervisors, teams, and management should discuss and provide direction in search of appropriate and reasonable solutions to each of the real issues that lie ahead in order to motivate everyone to change their mindset and behavior. There are not many instances where there is only one absolute right answer. It is important to have a process in which everyone can share their understanding of integrity and seek a common direction. I hope that the dJ Reform Committee will take the lead in putting this process into practice.

●Mr. Daito
I commend management's tireless efforts to ensure that the series of reforms are genuine, and that this is becoming increasingly evident to employees at all levels of the organization. The fact that many employees have voiced their concerns about the balance between integrity and dentsu's unique identity is evidence of this. The series of reforms is moving from the awareness phase to the implementation phase. While there is no doubt that each level of the company is experiencing growing pains, I hope that while exchanging a broad range of opinions, the management team will continue laying out a roadmap for reform while middle management proposes concrete measures, and the front line works together to implement these reforms.

(as of April 30, 2024)

●Mr. Itami
It is commendable that the management team, including CEO, Igarashi, has explained the necessity and direction of the reform to the Group‘s employees with his own words. Through the initiatives, the true meaning of the reforms must be shared among all of the employees, and the change in employees’ awareness must lead to a change in their behavior, creating an organizational culture that ensures corporate activities rooted in integrity. To this end, it is important to promote various initiatives with a strong sense of speed under strong leadership. I will continue to monitor the leadership and behavioral reform, and the change in the behavior of the employees.

●Mr. Yoshino
It is commendable that, for the improvement of employees’ awareness, the top management is trying to redefine and present to both internal and external the corporate philosophy with a sense of speed and holding dialogues. ‘Awareness’ is meaningless if it is merely understood in words of the statement; it must be understood and put into practice as an ‘indicator’ that can be translated into action. We would like to focus on the implementation of such initiatives.

●Mr. Daito
In order to instill a corporate culture that places the top priority on integrity, the leadership of top management has planned fundamental reforms, including a review of the positioning of the corporate philosophy, and has designed, managed, and steadily implemented specific initiatives to realize these reforms, which is commendable. In the future, we would like to see the management team fully absorb the various concerns of those on the front lines who are working to put integrity first and reflect them in concrete initiatives so that integrity first will take root as a true corporate culture and not merely a slogan.

(as of December 1, 2023)